Dynamic Notch signaling in neural progenitor cells and a revised view of lateral inhibition

作者：Kageyama Ryoichiro^*; Ohtsuka Toshiyuki; Shimojo Hiromi; Imayoshi Itaru

来源：Nature Neuroscience, 2008, 11(11): 1247-1251.

DOI：10.1038/nn.2208

In the developing mammalian nervous system, neural progenitor cells first express the Notch effector Hes1 at variable levels and then proneural genes and Notch ligands in salt-and-pepper patterns. Recent real-time imaging analysis indicates that Hes1 expression in these cells oscillates with a period of about 2-3 h. Furthermore, the proneural gene Neurogenin-2 (Ngn2) and the Notch ligand gene Deltalike-1 (Dll1) are expressed cyclically in neural progenitor cells under the control of Hes1 oscillation but are expressed continuously in postmitotic neurons, which lose Hes1 expression. Hes1-driven Ngn2 and Dll1 oscillations seem to be advantageous for maintenance of a group of cells in an undifferentiated state by mutual activation of Notch signaling. This dynamic mode of gene expression would require a revision of the traditional view of how Notch-mediated lateral inhibition operates in the developing mammalian nervous system.

• 出版日期2008-11